The walls, floors, ceilings, roofs and other structural components of conventionally constructed buildings offer little resistance to fire. Consequently, when a fire occurs in a building, it is able to spread quickly and pose a dangerous threat to the lives of the occupants. A particularly dangerous situation is created when load bearing walls fail structurally due to exposure to fire, because the entire building may then collapse.
The present invention is directed to a novel building panel which is fire resistant and can be used to construct load bearing walls as well as other building structures such as partitions, floors, ceilings and roofs. The invention is particularly well suited for the construction of load bearing walls because the fire resistant properties of the wall allow it to retain its structural capabilities even after having been subjected to fire for an extended period of time. The invention is further characterized by an economical manufacturing cost, the ability of the fire resistant panel to be quickly and easily incorporated into walls and other structures, and by the ability to provide a wall or ceiling surface that can be attractively finished in a conventional manner.
In accordance with the invention, a fire resistant building panel includes a core which is covered on both of its flat sides with a surface coating. The core is constructed of a composition which includes gypsum, portland cement, perlite aggregate and powder, water, and a catalyst. The surface coating on the core may be constructed of the same material as the core, with glass fibers embedded in the material to strengthen and reinforce the outside surfaces of the panel.
The fire resistant panels can be used to construct a wall or other building structure having a skeletal framework formed by metal studs. The panels can be secured to the studs through conventional screws to cover both sides of the wall surface. A paper backed metal lath is secured to both sides of the wall to cover the fire resistant panels. A finish coating is applied to the lath and may be a cementitious material consisting of gypsum, portland cement, perlite aggregate and perlite powder, water and a catalyst. The coating may be sprayed on, applied with a trowel or in some other suitable way. The cementitious finish coat is fire resistant and enhances the ability of the wall structure to resist fire.